Essay On Garbage Problem

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Recommended: Impacts of plastic in the ocean

Shelby Turner Pd. 8
Marine issue: Ocean garbage problem- Malaysia Airlines

More than three weeks after the Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared, one thing has been made clear: the ocean is literally full of garbage. Conservation scientists are concerned because it’s described as “trying to find a needle in a needle factory” while they were looking for the plane. With the world's eyes now looking all over the Asian waters for any trace of the plane that was more than 240 feet long and weighed more than 700,000 pounds, the magnitude of the ocean debris problem has become evident.
The debris of the plane was suspected to be in the southern Indian Ocean, but was found closer to the Australian coast. Since the debris was found closer to the coast some of the debris will later end up washed upon shore of Australia and other possible countries/continents. This can cause several issues, one reason being that planes are widely made of aluminum. Aluminum can be very harmful to marine organisms because its ions can react with phosphates, which the reaction will cause it to be less available to marine organisms. Other issues include organisms getting entangled in the garbage, choking on any potential pieces of garbage and scrap metals. Marine organisms are in danger and are threatened by the debris in the ocean.
Along with being a danger to the shore of Australia, the debris is a danger to the corals surrounding Western Australia. Located along the west of Australia is their only Fringing reef. This coral is located in Coral Bay and is named Ningaloo Reef; many different species go around this area such as turtles and whale sharks. Turtles use the coast that this coral starts along for nesting. If none of the shrapnel is collected then pieces...

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...rlines-plane/
Aluminum Recycling Prices. (n.d.). . Retrieved , from http://www.benefits-of-recycling.com/aluminumrecyclingprices/
Irwin, R. (n.d.). ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS ENCYCLOPEDIA. . Retrieved, from http://www.nature.nps.gov/hazardssafety/toxic/diesel.pdf (Pg. 10)
Williams, B., & Williams, D. (n.d.). Coral Bay - Western Australia. . Retrieved, from http://www.coralbay.org/
Ningaloo Turtle Program. (n.d.). . Retrieved , from http://www.ningalooturtles.org.au/
Dangerous Debris. (n.d.). . Retrieved , from http://see-the-sea.org/topics/pollution/debris/dangerous_debris.htm
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. (n.d.). . Retrieved , from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370
Adams, C., Lindberg, B., & Stevely, J. (n.d.). The Economic Benefits Associated with Florida's Artificial Reefs. . Retrieved , from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe649

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